As is known in the art, there are a wide variety of engines that combust a material, such as gasoline, and harvest the resultant energy to perform useful work, such as turning a shaft to power a vehicle. External combustion engines, such as steam engines, have used increased pressures and temperatures and heat regeneration to improve performance. Internal combustion engines are well-known to power vehicles, such as automobiles and many other vehicle types.
As is also known, a Rankine cycle is a thermodynamic cycle which converts heat into work using a working fluid, such as water, where the heat is supplied externally via a closed loop. Water is commonly used as the working fluid dues to certain properties including nontoxic and unreactive chemistry, abundance, and low cost, and desirable thermodynamic properties.